i have a 29 gallon freshwater tank with live plants that are not doing so well and wondering what type of light would be the best for growing them??????????

Boredomb

11-13-2012 02:45 AM

why type of light/s do you have now??

tankman12

11-13-2012 02:48 PM

i have compact floresents

Boredomb

11-13-2012 02:53 PM

how many, what wattage, and do you know the Kelvin rating???

tankman12

11-13-2012 03:07 PM

it is 70 watts and theres only one. whats the kelvin rating???????

Boredomb

11-13-2012 03:39 PM

well I am certainly not the person to explain Kelvin rating but simply put it is the color temperature of a light source. Plants go best between 5000k - 7000k. 6500k is what most ppl use as it is closes to the sun durning at noon. A single 70w bulb probably isn't the best. Two bulbs would be best but then you would probably want the bulbs to be 15watts 6500k bulbs.

tankman12

11-13-2012 03:44 PM

it might also be because the water is dark because of the 2 peices of driftwood i hv

Boredomb

11-13-2012 03:48 PM

dark? Like it colored you water (tannins) or is the driftwood blocking the light?

Boredomb

11-13-2012 03:48 PM

Do you use fertilizers for your plants? What plants do you have?

tankman12

11-13-2012 04:35 PM

the water has the tannins in it. i use fertilizer the flourish one.i hv an amazon sword which is doing alright, java ferns and java moss which r doing fine. i also have a few more which i do not no the names of.